‘I have been collecting there for quite a few years but they don’t want us there any more,’ he said. ‘It feels terrible because lads have fought for their country and now we are being refused. I’ve been collecting there all this time.

‘We only used to collect for the Riflemen but then I read about the blind veterans and wanted to do something for them. Now they won’t let us collect for either.’

Bob, who served as a Rifleman in Libya in 1944 when he was just 17, was astounded when Morrison’s in Harwich said he could no longer collect there.

Bob McHenry at home in Clacton (Picture: Cascade)

‘I was stunned,’ said Bob, of Coan Avenue, Clacton.

The collections usually raise between £200 and £500. Last week, Bob raised £800 in four days at another Morrisons store, in Little Clacton.

Former Rifleman Peter Bond, from Clacton, said: ‘Everyone knows Bob and the wonderful work he does. He stands outside Morrison’s in all weathers raising thousands of pounds for charities.